Down the stretch, St. Viator coach Mike Howland understandably had a lot of confidence in his group on the floor.

And thats because over the last few years, seniors Kevin Hammarlund, Mayo Arogundade, Patrick Martin, Hugh Masterson and junior Ore Arogundade have developed quite a bit of chemistry with one another.

Just two years ago, the group was the starting five of a sophomore team that went 23-1.

Last season, all except Ore Arogundade made up a strong second unit of a Lions squad that won a regional championship.

In Thursday evenings Class 4A Waukegan sectional semifinal, those five ensured the Lions would go one step further than last season as No. 3 seed St. Viator made all of the big plays down the stretch to come from behind and beat No. 2 seed Zion Benton 65-62.

St. Viator (21-8) advances to its second sectional final in school history and will play No. 1 seed Stevenson (26-4) tonight.

Theyre resilient and we had a gut-check moment when I laid into them pretty good, Howland said. It was up to them respond, and they go out there and make big plays. The credit is spread all across the board.

We can all calm each other down, and we were able to use that tonight, even when we got down, said Hammarlund, who blocked Gabriel Ramirezs potential game-winning 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left.

We hit some huge shots, stuck together and got this win.

Stopping Zion-Benton superstar Milik Yarbrough was nearly impossible all night as the junior scored a game-high 39 points, including 23 straight for the Zee-Bees at one point in the first half.

After Yarbroughs old fashioned 3-point play gave him 35 points on the night and put Zion-Benton (25-6) up 53-47 with 7:15 left, Mayo Arogundade had a suggestion for Howland.

The 5-foot-11 senior point guard bodied the 6-foot-6 Yarbrough and held him to just 4 free throws the rest of the game.

That was not a coaching decision  that was a Mayo decision, Howland said. He came over to me and goes, I want Milik. I said Fine, go for it, because we sure hadnt figured it out yet.

Obviously he has a couple of inches on me, couple pounds, but I tried to use my strength and quick feet, Mayo Arogundade said. Its all about just wanting it. Thats what crosses over to playing good defense.

With Yarbrough held in check, St. Viator went to work on the offensive end. Two free throws from Ore Arogundade, who scored 20 points and was 9-for-9 at the free throw line, kickstarted a 7-0 run that also included one of Hammarlunds 3 3-pointers.

Trailing 57-56, Martin (20 points) attacked the basket for a beautiful left-handed layup, plus a foul. He hit the ensuing free throw and after Yarbroughs two free throws resulted in the tenth tie of the game, Martin eyed his biggest shot of the night.

After a jab step at his defender, Martin had just enough room to get off a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key and after it swished through the hoop, the Lions held a 62-59 advantage with 1:20 left, a lead they wouldnt relinquish.

I actually didnt realize how far back I was until people told me it was like an NBA 3, Martin said of his fifth and final 3-pointer. I was just feeling it.

Hammarlund scored 7 of his 13 points in the third quarter to keep the Lions close. In addition to his defensive contributions, Mayo Arogundade had 9 points and 6 assists.

The toughest guys always come out on top, said a smiling Mayo Arogundade as he headed to the locker room.